Wildlife Refuges Essay - 1572 Words

Are refuges in Trouble? nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;There are 542 refuges in the U.S. comprising 95 million acres of protected land. Individual refuges serve as a multitude of purposes, including protecting endangered plants and animals and their habitats, preserving wilderness areas, providing outdoor recreational and educational opportunities, and providing lands and waters for traditional uses such as hunting and fishing. One would think that from the overall ownership of land and wonderful activities that the refuges provide, animals that are threatened or endangered would be totally protected. However, it takes a lot more than one would think to keep these refuges up and running. The biggest problems that our government is facing†¦show more content†¦Many refuges also have exotic animals and overpopulations of unwanted species. These exotic animals have been introduced and can be bad for the already established plants and animals. Many of these animals can be hunted in normal legal fashion, so a refuge may allow hunters to recreationally hunt and trap on their land. While the refuge protects much of their wildlife, sometimes there are unwanted or introduced animals that can destroy the natural habitat or out compete the threatened and endangered species. In the past five or six years about 40 refuges opened to migratory bird, upland game, and big game hunting for the first time, or have expanded hunting, all at an accelerating pace. This is very controversial as different groups that support the refuges, are now finding refuges to be a killing field instead of a haven. This new development can also detour new groups from becoming active in helping the refuges (Williams, ND) The public can be a big decider in a refuge’s fate. Many refuges are supported and loved by their local communities, but some are actually catching flack for what they do. One of the biggest problems with a community and a refuge is the question of, what animals are to be protected. When it comes to the reintroduced wolves in Yellowstone National Park or the polar bears in the Artic refuge there is much debate. Many people find more problems with protecting the animals rather than killing them off. In fact, some wolvesShow MoreRelatedArctic National Wildlife Refuge Dispute965 Words   |  4 PagesArctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, is a refuge geared toward preserving national wildlife in northeastern Alaska. ANWR is about 19 million acres, in space, and contains a potential drilling spot for oil and petroleum. The potential drilling spot is a small area known as the 10-02 Area. It is only 1.5 million acres, or 8%, of ANWR, would even be considered for development (What is ANWR). The controversy surrounding ANWR is whether to drill or not to drill into the 10-02 area. 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